Scuttlebiz: Regionalism on the rise in industrial recruiting efforts

Saturday

Economic development regionalism appears to be gaining steam in Augusta.

That's a good thing, because what we all call "Augusta" is as much a multi-county, two-state region as it is 300-plus-square-mile municipality in Richmond County.

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What happens in one part of the region generally affects the other. In many ways, we're all in this together, whether you live in the heart of the city or its outermost fringes. As the Urban Land Institute's Senior Fellow Ed McMahon told me during a recent interview: "It's hard to be the suburb of nothing."

In recent months, industrial recruiters in Burke, Columbia, McDuffie and Richmond counties on the Georgia side, and even Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina, have begun having dialogue on how to better coordinate their efforts to lure new jobs to the Augusta-Aiken metro area.

Considering economic development officials have had a history of operated in silos, simply having that "dialogue" is a great step forward.

This past week, for example, the Augusta Economic Development Authority voted to fund a seat for its chairman, Henry Ingram, to be on the board of directors for Augusta Tomorrow, the nearly 40-year-old downtown revitalization organization.

Should the city's premier job recruiting entity had a formal presence on the premier urban planning group prior to 2018? Probably. But better late than never, right?

The Augusta Chronicle, as the region's most widely consumed media outlet, is pleased to see the renewed emphasis on regional cooperation. And it wants to do its part to advance the dialogue.

That's why yours truly will be moderating a live panel discussion on Tuesday, Aug. 7, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. with the region's top industrial recruiters. The event will be broadcast live on The Chronicle's Facebook page and will be viewable thereafter on The Chronicle's YouTube channel.

Scheduled to participate are Cal Wray, president of the Augusta EDA; Robbie Bennett, executive director of the Development Authority of Columbia County; Jessica Hood, executive director of the Development Authority of Burke County; Jade Morey, president of Forward McDuffie; and Will Williams, president of the Economic Development Partnership, which represents Aiken, Edgefield, McCormick and Saluda counties in South Carolina.

I already have some discussion topics lined up, but if you have a question you'd like to ask to the group or to a particular individual, feel free to email them to me at dcline@augustachronicle.com or submit them live during the webcast.

I'm looking forward to a frank discussion from the friendly competitors on inter-governmental coordination and cooperation. And I hope you are, too.

SPEAKING OF FRIENDLY: The fine folks at apartment listing service Zumper.com usually supply me with rental rates for Augusta and 99 other markets nationwide. But this past week they also provided their list of "Best Cities to Raise a Family."

Of the 10 best cities to raise a family, nine were either in the Midwest or the South, due largely to lower housing prices, shorter commute times and stronger local economic conditions.

Augusta got high marks for having low unemployment and crime rates, short commute times and affordable housing. But it got dinged for having a high dropout rate and a low median household income. It's overall score out of 100 was 71.9.

No. 1 on the list, Madison, Wis., scored a perfect 100, followed by Lincoln, Neb., (93.9) and Lexington, Ky., (91.5). The nearest city to Augusta on the list was Charlotte, N.C., whose score of 79.2 earned it the No. 11 spot.

In case you were wondering about apartment rents, Zumper said metro Augusta's median one- and two-bedroom units were, respectively, $720 and $830 a month, much lower than the national medians of $1,208 and $1,446.

ROOM WITH A VIEW: There are plenty of places to grab a bite in downtown Augusta, but none offer the view of The Pinnacle Club, which for more than 50 years has treated diners to panoramic views of the city from 17 stories high.

The private club's next chapter will be written by Edgar's Hospitality Group, which has taken over management of the facility from Joel Sobel, who is retiring as general manager this month after 18 years with the organization that has occupies the top two floors of 699 Broad St. since 1967.

"Joel's retirement is bittersweet for us," Pinnacle Club Advisory Board President Robert Osborne said in a note to members. "We knew the time would eventually come, but he has certainly earned his chance to retire."

Edgar's Hospitality Group, a division of Goodwill Industries in Augusta and Macon, operates the high-end Edgar's Grille, Edgar's Bistro and Higher Grounds Cafe as well as off-site catering and on-site service at the Snelling Conference Center. Students of Goodwill's Helms College work with the executive chefs as part of their education.

“The new endeavor will also provide another outstanding platform to provide transformative educational learning experiences to our Helms College School of Hospitality students,” Helms College President James K. Stiff said.

Osborne's letters to members noted "substantial" redecorations will be made to the 17th floor establishment.

"I hope you are as excited about our future as we are," Osborne said. "There is a lot to look forward to, so stay tuned."

THESE BUSINESSES GO TO 11: It's time to tune in, turn on and rock out. In a unique, impactful and economically beneficial way.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Economic Developers Association is accepting nominations for the 2019 Georgia Small Business Rock Stars award through Sept. 15. The awards are open to any Georgia company under 100 employees. You may recall one of last year's winners was Columbia County's STRAND Clinical Technologies, a clinical pharmacy billing service and consultancy.

Do you know of an innovative venture worthy of recognition? Go to the department's website at geda.site-ym.com/page/SmallBusinessAwards and make your nomination today.

COMMERCIAL CORRAL: Get your boots and spurs on – it's time to round up some recent business activity.

Family Dollar Stores this past week celebrated the grand re-opening of its store at 2914 Deans Bridge Road.

Kim's Donuts in the medical district at 1454 Walton Way closed its doors July 31.

After more than a year of construction, the Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Augusta Sports Council have moved into their new offices at 1010 Broad St.

The newly finished Augusta Plastic Surgery practice at 569 Furys Ferry Road is now open for business.

Kamo Manufacturing Co. has completed its expansion into the former Weeks Transmission Service building at the corner of 13th and Broad streets, while Weeks has reopened further west at 1432 Reynolds St., near the St. Sebastian St. intersection.

Construction work is in full swing at the metro area's newest car dealership, Hyundai of North Augusta, at the intersection of Palmetto Parkway and Jefferson Davis Highway.

And last but not least, the 311-room Candlewood Suites on 3rd Avenue at Fort Gordon has gone vertical and is about one-third of the way to its 2020 opening date.

SCHOOL'S IN: My days of buying school supplies for kids are over, but if yours are just beginning, you might be interested in a site called teacherlists.com. You can get complete details on your child's school supply lists, regardless of their school, by doing a zip code search.

The site has lists for more than 1 million classes at 50,000 schools nationwide, including specific notes and clarifications from teachers and school staff. Check it out at teacherlists.com/parents.

Brace yourself. Those three-ring binders ain't cheap.

Reach Damon Cline at (706) 823-3352 or dcline@augustachronicle.com.

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